panache

noun

pa·​nache pə-ˈnash  -ˈnäsh 

1

: an ornamental tuft (as of feathers) especially on a helmet

The palace guard had a panache on his helmet.

2

: dash or flamboyance in style and action : verve

… flashed his … smile and waved with the panache of a big-city mayor.

—Joe Morgenstern

Illustration of panache

• panache 1

Did you know?

Few literary characters can match the panache of French poet and soldier Cyrano de Bergerac, from Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play of the same name. In his dying moments, Cyrano declares that the one thing left to him is his panache, and that assertion at once demonstrates the meaning of the word and draws upon its history. In both French and English, panache (which traces back to Late Latin pinnaculum, “small wing”) originally referred to a showy, feathery plume on a hat or helmet. Our familiar figurative sense debuted in the first English translation of Rostand’s play, which made the literal plume a metaphor for Cyrano’s unflagging verve even in death. In a 1903 speech Rostand himself described panache: “A little frivolous perhaps, most certainly a little theatrical, panache is nothing but a grace which is so difficult to retain in the face of death, a grace which demands so much strength that, all the same, it is a grace … which I wish for all of us.”

Examples of panache in a Sentence

She played the role of hostess with great panache.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Norwegian director balanced horror, humor and action with more panache in the films that put him on the map, Dead Snow and its sequel, which dumped Nazi zombies in mountain woodlands. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026

But that special quality, that verve, that panache Curry so effortlessly provides to elevate the Warriors from hardworking losers to a playoff team nobody wants to play? —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2026

Genre-blending in Latin music is nothing new, but timing and execution set them apart, along with an uncanny ability to turn internet absurdism into cool songs, all wrapped in sharp musicianship and rock ’n’ roll panache. —Maria Nenet Barrios, Pitchfork, 19 Mar. 2026

The design is streamlined, but six decorative inlaid steel rondels on each side of the handle add a little panache. —Emily Johnson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French pennache, from Old Italian pennacchio, from Late Latin pinnaculum small wing — more at pinnacle

First Known Use

1553, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for panache

• backwash
• downwash
• mouthwash
• outwash
• whitewash
• bosh
• frosh
• gosh
• josh
• posh
• quash
• slosh

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